Since 1926, the Agricultural Review has been a free newspaper published by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For many years, The Tar Heel Kitchen was a featured column written by the department’s marketing home economist.
These recipes tended to be seasonal with just a handful of ingredients. We thought these recipes needed to be shared in a new format. The Tar Heel Kitchen post will unearth a few of these timeless recipes each month. This week we are revisiting the Sept. 15, 1977 issue and a giving a quick tutorial in old-fashioned fried apples – a tradional Southern breakfast staple.
“Now is the time to put your kitchen in apple pie order to prepare apples for the apple of your eye,” said York Kiker, former home economist. “Know your apples in order not to upset the apple cart by choosing the wrong kinds for the planned use.”
Kiker recommends sweet and tender Red Delicious apples for eating out-of-hand or in salads, but not for cooking. Golden Delicious are good for all uses and do not turn brown quickly when slicing. Rome apples are slightly tart and perfect for baking and general cooking. “Apples that are firm, bright, clean and well-colored are generally the best product,” Kiker concluded.
Lucky for us, apples farmers have a lot more apple varieties available now than they did in 1977. Visit your local farmers market or pick-your-own orchard to talk to the farmer about planned use.
Following is a recipe for old-fashioned fried apples. We tried these in the test kitchen and suggest serving them to the “apple of your eye,” along with bacon and eggs.
Old-Fashioned Fried Apples
Core tart cooking apples in quantity desired. Apples may be with or without peelings. Cut apples into eighths (or more for large apples) or into half-inch rings. Cook apples over medium heat in a small amount of bacon or sausage grease, or margarine, until tender. Turn gently to cook evenly. Just before apples are done, sprinkle sugar to taste over top.
We tried fixing these in bacon grease. The bacon flavor added a unique taste to the apples. This is a very simple way to enjoy apples at breakfast.